Italy: Journalists
strike over threat to "press freedom"On Tuesday 10 June 2003 journalists
undertook strike action called by the Italian journalists´
union (Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana, FNSI) "to
defend press freedom and to protect the independence of the sector".
The one-day strike affected the printed press, press agencies,
websites, free-lance journalists and press offices, with a further
strike involving radio and television journalists scheduled for
18 June. The FNSI spoke a "massive participation and a "success",
in spite of "repeated and offensive attacks" against
the trade union, and concerning the "political" nature
of the strike. Paolo Serventi Longhi, the general secretary of
the FNSI, accepted that the strike was political "if what
is meant is that it is in defence of the right to be informed,
a right which is sanctioned in the Constitution and that we believe
is currently very much at risk". Serventi Longhi stressed
that less newspapers were available on news stands than has been
the case during strikes during contractual negotiations in the
past. An appeal by the FNSI calling on journalists to join the
strike claimed that "it is becoming increasingly more difficult,
in many businesses" in the information sector, "to
produce information correctly, without any interference",
alleging that external interest groups influence the items on
television and radio news programmes and the titles in newspapers.
Italian president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro also supported the strike,
arguing that he believes that "Yes, freedom of information
is in danger" speaking of a "strong and dangerous restriction
of news and consequently, of the truth", that is available.

The press statement issued on 21 May 2003 to call for strike
action highlighted a number of issues that need to be resolved,
including prime minister Silvio Berlusconi´s conflict of
interests, because of his institutional role and ownership of
substantial media assets. Other questions included a draft law
on telecommunications drawn up by Maurizio Gasparri, the Alleanza
Nazionale minister for communications, which looks to abolish
anti-trust limits on media ownership, described as a "threat
to pluralism", and seeks to introduce tougher sanctions
for press crimes. Discussions held in parliament saw the approval
of an amendment seeking to introduce custodial sentences for
defamation through the media.

A number of incidents were brought up in relation to the strike
to indicate that press freedom is at risk from outside interference.
These included an inspection in the offices of RAI 3 (RAI is
Italy´s public radio and television broadcaster, and has
three TV stations) on 8 May, after a news report on a trial featuring
Berlusconi aroused his criticism, statements by the prime minister
that were pre-recorded and sent to television stations to be
broadcast without the possibility of journalists to interview
him, the disappearance of three journalists (Enzo Biagi, Enrico
Luttazzi and Michele Santoro) from prime-time RAI television
programmes after Berlusconi singled them out for criticism during
a trip to Bulgaria and, most recently, the resignation of Ferruccio
De Bortoli, director of Corriere della Sera, one of Italy´s
most influential daily newspapers, which led to a strike by the
newspaper´s staff on 1 June 2003. Corrado Stajano, a leading
columnist for the newspaper who resigned after De Bortoli´s
resignation, said that "I do not believe in the official
version of De Bortoli´s resignation - personal reasons
- at all". He highlighted that the director´s support
for journalists who wrote about issues such as the prime minister´s
conflict of interests, judicial proceedings and in opposition
to the war in Iraq had placed him under increasing pressure from
several quarters.